DA leader John Steenhuisen has hit back at claims that the DA-run Western Cape was governing better in affluent urban areas at the neglect of poor communities, saying they are not perfect as a party.
This follows Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie’s bid to expose the DA for its “better governance” claims, citing vast inequality in the province.
Steenhuisen said he has never called the DA perfect, however, they are miles ahead the rest of the country.
“There is no perfect government in South Africa, there is no part of South Africa that is the promised land. There is lots of work to be done all over the country to overcome years of apartheid spatial planning,” he said.
“We have to deal with infrastructure that is ageing, the rolling out of services in a rapidly urbanised environment. There is no perfect government, and no government is going to get it right all of the time.”
It’s very easy to go and rally a few people who have been without water for two days, despite the municipality bringing water tanks for relief. That’s not the truth. The reality is that load-shedding has reduced the municipality’s ability to function
— John Steenhuisen, DA leader
He called McKenzie a politician who deliberately chose to depict a half-truth.
“He has strategically chosen specific areas. What he did not tell you is that the part of Stellenbosch he chose to expose is an area that has been deeply affected by load-shedding and the water reservoir has been unable to pump water because of Eskom.
“It’s very easy to go and rally a few people who have been without water for two days, despite the municipality bringing water tanks for relief. That’s not the truth. The reality is that load-shedding has reduced the municipality’s ability to function, particularly in smaller local municipalities who don’t have the scale and size of metros.”
Steenhuisen said it was no shock that there would be some areas in Cape Town and the Western Cape that were lagging behind.
“Yes, you are going to find places in Cape Town and the Western Cape where things aren’t perfect. But when you look at the final analysis on a macro-scale, you will begin to see a municipality that is getting a lot more right than it is getting wrong.
“We are doing far better than any metropolitan municipality in the country. Are we perfect where we govern? Absolutely not. But we are much better ahead than any other area in the country.”
Steenhuisen said what is important is that his party is doing important work to claw back the imbalances of the past.
“We’re building exciting projects like the Conradie housing project, which will bring people closer to the city centre, in safe developments of social housing where they can gain access to economic opportunities, access to clinics and basic services.
“Never have I once said the DA is perfect, but where the DA governs, it is a great deal better than anywhere else in the country. Of course you can’t compare Khayelitsha with Camps Bay. That’s not a DA problem, it’s a national and international problem. Just as you can’t compare Umhlanga and Umlazi.
“There are backlogs and you’ve got to try to deal with them. And the DA is far ahead than any other metro and any other province in the country at dealing with inefficiencies.”
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